Does global climate change affect air pollution in Illinois?

Does global climate change affect air pollution in Illinois?

Authors

This policy brief provides an overview of research on climate change and air pollution, and it discusses the implications for Illinois. The researchers first describe the effects of pollution and then look at trends in Illinois relative to the whole United States. They then describe estimates of the effects of climate change on local pollution, and the effects of pollution on health.

Focusing on ground-level ozone—which is projected to rise in the future—they use those estimates to calculate the effects of climate change on the number of “life-years lost” for the three million residents around Chicago. They calculate that the social costs of the mortality increase associated with increased ozone levels in the Chicago area could exceed $250 million annually.